Smallville Soundtrack (The Talon Mix)
01/11/2003 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: CD: Elektra CD62792. 'Somebody save me...'
Another look in our occasional series on Science Fiction/Fantasy
soundtracks.
I'm very keen on soundtracks and particularly enjoyed the music
of 'Once More With Feeling' as some of you may remember. I note that there
is now a soundtrack album for 'Charmed'. This may in some way compensate fans
of the show for the very tardy release of any of the show on video or DVD.
 On
a brighter note 'Smallville' was quite quick off the mark especially
for those of us tied to terrestrial television with its recent release
of the soundtrack and a few days ago the complete Season One on
DVD.
'The Talon Mix'
should reflect the kind of music the young 'uns are playing in the café
of that name run rather remarkably by Lana Lang in between being a model student
and mooning over Whitney/Clark etcetera.
Commencing with the excellent
theme tune by Remy Zero it then launches into VonRay's 'Inside Out'. There are
certain tracks of note in this rather superb compilation. The track that made
me buy it is a mournful rebuttal of the Superman tag. Entitled 'Superman' by Five
For Fighting it sums up with great clarity what is bad about being a super-hero.
All the tracks form the backing to scenes in the opening season that I
am hoping to see again at some point. Ryan Adams offers a searing performance
of 'Nuclear' and there is a poignant version of 'Time After Time' by the late
Eva Cassidy. Another winner is The Flaming Lips with 'Fight Test'.
Poor
Clark, he is constantly wearing his heart on his sleeve and for the future Man
of Steel this is the only place he can be wounded. These songs are all about the
conflicts and growth he experiences and they have been well chosen to complement
the tone of the series.
They are all good solid songs with not a duff
one among them. Off hand, I cannot remember how much of each song actually features
in particular episode and I'm looking forward to the DVD set to find out. The
only disappointment here is that there are no personal themes on this CD. However
as part of the recognised merchandising of a popular series such as 'Smallville'
it gets a big thumbs up from me in terms of playable tracks. They even
managed to slip in a cover version of 'Don't Dream Its Over' which sounds to me
as good as the original. Oh and hats off to all the bands with the most ridiculous
names. This CD also forms a great introduction to the featured artists - in particular
The Flaming Lips whose other claim to fame is getting a single called 'Yoshimi
And The Battle With The Pink Robots' played on BBC Radio 2 - go for it, lads.
Look out for Brit band Steadman whose Oasis-style track is featured in the episode
entitled 'Fever'.
The television programmes and CD are complementary
and in the same way as the original 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' album, each of
them can feed off each other!
As a bonus, the CD also offers exclusive
access to Warner Brothers world of Smallville including a live performance of
VonRay's 'Inside Out'. There's a virtual tour of Smallville and on-line access
to the sold-out first issue of DC Comic's Smallville comic book.
It's
a Smallville world!
Sue Davies 
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